Twitch updates attire policy to prohibit implied nudity

Twitch has updated its attire policy to prohibit implied nudity on the streaming platform, which goes into effect today.

The update is in response to a recent wave of streamers using black censor bars or items to block their bodies, implying full or partial nudity.

Twitch notes, in a new blog post on the change, “while most streamers have labelled this content appropriately with the Sexual Themes label and are wearing clothing behind the object or outside the camera frame, for many users, the thumbnails of this content can be disruptive to their experience on Twitch.”

Streamers have never been permitted to be fully or partially nude on Twitch, but the policy has now been updated to include the following: “Nor do we permit streamers to imply or suggest that they are fully or partially nude, including, but not limited to, covering breasts or genitals with objects or censor bars.”

Further, for streamers who present as women, cleavage is unrestricted as long as nipples and underbust are not exposed, and additionally it must be clear the streamer is wearing clothing. There is no mention of male nipples specifically.

Where coverage is required, it must be fully opaque – sheer or partially see-through clothing does not constitute coverage.

Streamers are also expected to appropriately categorise their content. For instance, specific clothing is allowed when streaming near a pool or a hot tub but streamers are expected to use the ‘Pools, Hot Tubs and Beaches’ category. Repeated failure to do so will lead to an enforcement action, said Twitch.

This amendment follows an update to Twitch’s sexual content policy back in December. Sexually suggestive content – to an extent – is allowed on Twitch but must adhere to specific rules and be correctly labelled.

Further, streams labelled with sexual themes (among others) will no longer be included in homepage recommendations, though remain in the category browse directories.

The sexual content policy also initially allowed for artistic nudity, but the platform was soon inundated with sexual content pushing the boundaries of Twitch’s policies.

This new amendment to nudity sees Twitch making further steps to ensure its platform is safe and promotes appropriate content.

“Our goal, with this and other recent changes, is to make Twitch a safe and welcoming place for all of the communities that call it home, improve the clarity of our policies, and ensure that people have the experience they expect when spending time on Twitch,” reads the latest blog post.

“We are currently working on the ability to blur thumbnails for content labelled using the Sexual Themes label, plus user settings that will allow a user to filter their Twitch viewing experience based upon their preferences for content labelled with Content Classification Labels (CCL).”